This invention relates in general to the building materials industry, and more particularly, is directed to a false muntin assembly for removably affixing a false muntin to a single glazing panel in a window to achieve the effect of multiple lights.
In view of the constantly rising costs in the building materials industry, it has become increasingly important for builders and material supply men to find suitable methods and substitute materials which may be employed in building construction to replace existing conventional materials and methods in order to effect economies in building construction without undue sacrifice in quality of construction and in the appearance of the finished product.
Particularly, in the manufacture of windows used primarily in residential construction, savings are now being realized in the fabrication of window sash by employing a single pane of glass and by eliminating the use of individual horizontal and vertical muntin bars and other window dividers. Window manufacturers have found that increased fabricating costs and increased labor costs result from the use of muntin bars and divided light windows. Accordingly, most producers have now almost universally changed fabrication methods to produce window sashes of various sizes having but a single light of glass. In this manner, a considerable manufacturing cost savings can be realized to thus continue to make such windows competitive in the building field by completely eliminating the expense of manufacturing and installing individual muntin bars and individual panes of glass in the sash.
In addition, newer methods of manufacture have resulted in procedures wherein glaziers can be almost entirely eliminated by utilizing wrap-around glazing and various vinyl plastic window sealing materials whereby no putty or other sealing materials will be required. In this manner, it is now possible to produce and assemble window units without former labor delays in glazing and without the expense occasioned by the previous individually glazing of a multiplicity of panes within a multilight sash. In instances wherein metal sash is employed, glass is now applied to the frame by utilizing hard vinyl or soft vinyl peripheral retaining strips, thereby also further reducing labor costs and the need for skilled glaziers.
Even though the initial cost savings realized in the new methods of manufacture have indeed been significant, the advantages gained are somewhat offset by the fact that the windows so produced all look alike and the individual characteristics of design that were available with prior art models can no longer be produced using the present methods. In order to offset this shortcoming, the use of removable type muntin bar assemblies fabricated either of wood or of a vinyl resin plastic has become increasingly more popular. The plastic and wood decorative window grill assemblies as presently manufactured usually comprise a plurality of intersecting grill bars, means to interconnect the individual grill bars to the window frame. Various methods have been employed by prior workers in the art to removably affix the decorative window grill assemblies over a single light of glass, for example, by using collar pins as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,412 to Martin. In another method, an offset connector is used to removably affix decorative window grills over a single light window sash, U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,939, to Herr. Further, Hicks, U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,651, has a partial false muntin assembly having a window divided into two lights by a glazing bead and a false muntin having a rigid, continuous aluminum base and vinyl semi-rigid cover with a snap-fit interlock to form the false muntin. U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,814 to Cribben shows a crosslap type joint for false muntin assembly in which two cross pieces of hollow rectangular tubular metal are interlocked by bending one of them at the joint to form a rectangular or parallelogram patterned grid.
One of the primary problems with false muntins is their tendency to bow away from the glazing panel when positioned in between the sashes or glazing beads of window. Bischoff, Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,293 teaches a hollow false muntin grid with a reinforcing rod bowed towards the glass plate surface to force the hollow false muntin assembly into contact with the glass. Other attempts to overcome this have placed the false muntin bars within the hollow space between the two panes of an insulated glass in order to give a uniform appearance from inside and outside and to reduce the lifting away or floating of the false muntin system from the glazing panel, see Armstrong, U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,531. More recently, Dovman, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,858, has placed his tubular rectangular muntin bars for a window grille construction in between the glazing panels of the double glazed window and connected them together at their ends by use of a spring biased clip inserted into the hollow mitered extremities of paired members. This clip, however, is designed not to be easily removed or removable from the muntin bars.
The present invention provides a false muntin assembly which does not have the float problem and which can be snap-fit onto the glazing panel and removed therefrom for more easily cleaning the window panel.